AfDB To Support Abidjan Legacy Programme With $500m

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – African Development Bank (AfDB) has promised to support the implementation of the Abidjan Legacy Programme, a project that will restore forest and degraded lands in Côte d’Ivoire, with $500 million.

President of AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina made the pledge when he met with the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara. The Bank chief was a routine visit to take stock of cooperation between the Bank Group and the government of Côte d’Ivoire.

Discussions covered the 16th replenishment of the African Development Fund (ADF), the Bank Group’s concessional lending arm to the continent’s low-income countries; a major Bank-financed reforestation programme; the construction of the Lagos-Abidjan highway; and the ongoing fifteen Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention on the fight against desertification, holding in Abidjan.

Dr. Akinwumi also reassured President Ouattara of the Bank’s commitment to Côte d’Ivoire, announcing a $746,500 package to support the COP15 conference in Abidjan.

He told President Ouattara that the Bank Group was focused on expanding resources for the African Development Fund in its 16th replenishment.

He equally presented the results of the 2021 edition of the virtual boardrooms of the Africa Investment Forum, held this past March.

The Bank chief also invited President Ouattara to take part in the African Development Bank Group’s imminent Annual Meetings in Accra, Ghana, from the 23rd to 27th of May.

On his part, the Ivorian president was supportive of the Fund leveraging its equity on the capital market to deliver more financing for Africa.

He also welcomed the news that the $15.6 billion Abidjan-Lagos road corridor project had attracted investment interest at the Africa Investment Forum.

The African Development Bank Group is a strategic partner in Côte d’Ivoire’s socio-economic development. The Bank Group’s active portfolio in the country consists of 45 operations totaling $2.71 billion.

This is largely in transport infrastructure (40.8 percent), energy (22 .2 percent), agriculture (18.1 percent), governance (10.3 percent), social issues (4.6 percent), finance (2 percent), and water and sanitation (2 percent).

The African Development Bank Group’s strategy in Côte d’Ivoire for the 2018-2022 period focuses on accelerating economic diversification and structural transformation of the Ivorian economy. This is to help it become more inclusive, sustainable and resilient to shocks.

By strengthening infrastructure and governance, this strategy supports the competitiveness of the economy and improves the efficiency of investments. It also relies on the development of agro-industrial value chains as a driver of inclusive and sustainable growth.